The saga of Japan’s lunar lander continues to unfold, with the first images of SLIM on the surface of the Moon revealing the unfortunate position the spacecraft has ended up in.
When NASA attempted to return to the Moon for the first time in 50 years on January 8, more was at risk than just $108 million worth of development and equipment. The agency earned the ire of the Native American Navajo people, who made a bid to stop the launch because of an unusual inclusion in the payload.
NASA GSFC/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez/NASA, ESA, CSA, and L. Hustak (STScI)
Japan’s space agency, JAXA, achieved a historic soft landing with SLIM on Friday morning, but the lander ran into instant trouble by not being able to collect solar energy and generate electricity. Hopeful for some westerly sunshine, JAXA is cautiously optimistic that SLIM could spring back to life in a couple of…
NASA’s diligent lunar orbiter transmitted a laser beam to a dome-shaped aluminum device the size of a billiard ball on India’s Vikram lander, pinging its location on the Moon. This laser-enabled technique could one day help NASA astronauts find their way on the lunar surface.
Scientists scrutinizing the fine dust covering the Moon have identified a handful of boulders on the lunar surface that they believe may be covered with uniquely magnetized dust.
Astrobotic
JAXA
Japan’s SLIM is on the Moon and sending data to Earth, in what is a monumental achievement for Japan—it’s now the fifth country to accomplish the feat. The successful soft landing notwithstanding, the situation looks grim; officials with Japanese space agency JAXA say the lander’s solar cell is not generating…
Japan chooses to go to the Moon, and it’s doing so with a strong emphasis on accuracy. With SLIM, the nation’s space agency is aiming for an autonomous, high-precision landing within an impressive 328 feet (100 meters) of its intended target inside Shioli Crater.